127 Johanna

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127 Johanna
Discovery
Discovered by Paul Henry and Prosper Henry
Discovery date November 5, 1872
Designations
Named after Joan of Arc
Minor planet category Main belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion 438.576 Gm (2.932 AU)
Perihelion 385.859 Gm (2.579 AU)
Semi-major axis 412.218 Gm (2.756 AU)
Eccentricity 0.064
Orbital period 1670.707 d (4.57 a)
Average orbital speed 17.92 km/s
Mean anomaly 36.831°
Inclination 8.245°
Longitude of ascending node 31.448°
Argument of perihelion 91.496°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 116.14 ± 3.93[2] km
Mass (3.08 ± 1.35) × 1018[2] kg
Mean density 3.75 ± 1.68[2] g/cm3
Rotation period 12.7988[3] h
Albedo 0.0557 ± 0.0039[4]
Temperature ~168 K
Spectral type CX[5] (Tholen)
Ch[5] (Bus)
Absolute magnitude (H) 8.30[4]

    127 Johanna is a large, dark main-belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on November 5, 1872, and is believed to be named after Joan of Arc.[6] It is classified as a CX-type asteroid, indicating the spectrum shows properties of both a carbonacious C-type asteroid and a metallic X-type asteroid.[5]

    A photoelectric study was performed of this minor planet in 1991 at the Konkoly Observatory in Hungary. The resulting light curve showed a synodic rotation period of 6.94 ± 0.29 hours with a brightness variation of 0.2 in magnitude. It was estimated to have an absolute magnitude of 8.459 ± 0.013 with a diameter of 96–118 km and an albedo of 0.06–0.04.[7]

    Infrared observations made in 1982 at Konkoly showed a rapid variation that seemed to suggest a shorter rotation period of 1.5 hours; one of the fastest known at the time. However, an irregular shape was suggested as an alternative cause of the rapid variation.[8] The present day established rotation period of this object is 12.7988 hours.[3]

    During 2001, 127 Johanna was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 117 ± 21 km.[5] A larger diameter value of 123.41 ± 4.07 km was obtained from the Midcourse Space Experiment observations, with an albedo of 0.0557 ± 0.0039.[4] A 2012 study gave a refined diameter estimate of 116.14 ± 3.93 km.[2]

    References

    1. Yeomans, Donald K., "127 Johanna", JPL Small-Body Database Browser (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory), retrieved 2013-03-25. 
    2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science 73: 98-118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009.  See Table 1.
    3. 3.0 3.1 Behrend, Raoul, Courbes de rotation d'astéroïdes et de comètes (in French), Observatoire de Genève, retrieved 2013-03-29 
    4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Tedesco, Edward F. et al. (July 2002), "The Midcourse Space Experiment Infrared Minor Planet Survey", The Astronomical Journal 124 (124): 583-591, Bibcode:2002AJ....124..583T, doi:10.1086/340960. 
    5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Magri, Christopher et al. (January 2007), "A radar survey of main-belt asteroids: Arecibo observations of 55 objects during 1999–2003", Icarus 186 (1): 126–151, Bibcode:2007Icar..186..126M, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.08.018 
    6. Schmadel, Lutz D.; International Astronomical Union (2003), Dictionary of minor planet names, Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag, p. 27, ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. 
    7. Toth, Imre (December 1997), "First lightcurve observations and rotation of minor planet 127 Johanna", Planetary and Space Science 45: 1625-1637, Bibcode:1997P&SS...45.1625T, doi:10.1016/S0032-0633(97)00141-4. 
    8. Szecsenyi-Nagy, G. (1983), "127 Johanna - Is it really the most quickly spinning asteroid known at this moment?", Asteroids, comets, meteors; Proceedings of the Meeting, Uppsala, Sweden, June 20-22, 1983 45: 49-53, Bibcode:1983acm..proc...49S, doi:10.1016/S0032-0633(97)00141-4. 
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